Requirements for your live account application

Because Adyen is a payment provider and acquirer, we are legally obliged to do detailed checks on your company, its shareholders, and your business model. We do these checks before granting live accounts, and during periodic reviews of your existing accounts.

When you apply for a live account, you will need to upload digital copies of:

• Company registration document
• Proof of tax information or VAT information
• Merchant bank statement (optional)
• Proof of identity and proof of residency

If you want to accept payments online, you must also show that your integration satisfies website and app requirements.

Company registration document

Your company registration document must be issued by one of the following:

• A public authority
• A government agency
• A judicial authority

The company registration document must either:

• Be issued within the last 12 months and show the corresponding issuance date
• Be signed and dated by the entity's authorized signatory within the last 12 months

The company registration document needs to show the legal entity name and the registration number of your company.

For the required format for registration numbers in a particular country, see the following list.

Public companies

Publicly listed companies, or companies that are wholly owned by a publicly listed company, can submit their published annual report as a registration document. The annual report must include the following information:

• The name of the legal entity
• The country of registration
• The national ID (i.e. registration number)
• The name of the independent auditor's firm
• The date of signing by the firm/auditor. The date must be within the past one year.

Company types

As part of your application for a live account with Adyen, you must provide information about the type of your company.

The following lists show local names for different company types in selected countries and maps them to the corresponding Adyen legal entity types.

Proof of tax information

The proof of tax information must:

• Have the organization name.
• Have the tax ID number.
• Be issued by a reliable, independent source such as the local tax authority of the country where the business is registered in.
• Issued within the last 12 months, or it must contain a signature and a state of affairs with a date not older than 12 months.

The uploaded document must meet the following file format and size requirements:

• Formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG, or PDF (maximum 1 file)
• Size for PDFs: minimum 1 KB, maximum 4 MB
• Size for other formats: minimum 100 KB, maximum 4 MB

VAT information

As part of the verification requirements for legal entities, you need to submit one of the following VAT (value-added tax) documents:

• Tax registration form
• Residence certificate issued by local tax authority
• Confirmation of tax position issued by local tax authority
• Copy of a recent corporate income tax return in local country
• Copy of a recent VAT, GST (goods and service tax) or similar tax return in local country
• Copy of a tax assessment in local country
• Deed or statement by a notary, lawyer, regulated/qualified tax advisor, or other comparable official legal service provider

If your company does not have a valid VAT number, you need to generate a VAT exemption form in your Customer Area. An authorized signatory must complete this form and submit it to Adyen.

The VAT document must:

• Be issued by a public authority, government agency or judicial authority. If your company registration number and VAT number are the same, you must provide confirmation from your local tax authority that the VAT number is active.
• State the name of the legal entity and the VAT number.
• State the country where the business is registered.

The VAT document must also either:

• Be issued within the last 12 months and show the corresponding issuance date
• Be signed and dated by the entity's authorized signatory within the last 12 months

The list below shows the format for VAT numbers in selected countries. Note that in some countries, the VAT number and tax ID number are different.

Payout account (Merchant bank statement)

Adyen must verify the existence of your bank account and confirm it is linked to your legal entity.

The proof of bank account can be any of the following:

• Bank statements
• Deposit tickets or deposit forms
• Screenshots of your online banking environment
• Official letters issued by a bank
• Cheques

Country specific documents:

• Relevé d'Identité Bancaire (RIB): bank document in France
• TAMIEYTHPIO: bank document in Greece
• Singaporian bank passbooks: bank document in Singapore

Requirements for all documents

The document must show:

• Your name. This must match your legal entity name or trading name.
• The account number or IBAN needs to be visible.
• The date of issuance needs to be visible and needs to be dated less than 12 months ago. This requirement applies to all types of documents except for RIBs, cheques, or TAMIEYTHPIO.
• The country where the bank account is located. For EU bank statements, Adyen infers the country from the IBAN.
• An indicator that the document was issued by a bank, such as the bank name, a bank logo or a bank-specific font.

We do not accept:

• Photos of bank-issued cards, such as credit or debit cards.
• Edited or personalized documents.
• Documents issued more than 12 months ago.
• Documents where required data points are missing.
• Documents with cut-off, blurry, or low-quality images.
• Documents issued by third party software platforms or programs.

Requirements for specific document types

Direct deposit tickets and forms:

• Must contain a bank logo or bank letterhead.
• Can only be accepted with a stamp or signature from the bank.

Cheques:

• The name of the account holder, account number, and name of the financial institution or logo need to be printed (not handwritten).
• Security features need to be visible for cheques in US and CA.
• The account number and routing number need to be fully visible.
• We can only accept scans or direct photos of cheques.
• We can only accept electronic cheques issued by banks in CA.
• We cannot accept any cheques issued by banks in AU.

Letters from bank or bank account agreements:

• Must contain a bank logo or a bank letterhead.
• All letters must have a stamp or signature from the bank.

The uploaded document must meet the following file format and size requirements:

• Formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG, or PDF (maximum 1 file)
• Size for PDFs: minimum 1 KB, maximum 4 MB
• Size for other formats: minimum 100 KB, maximum 4 MB

Proof of identity

You will need to provide proof of identity for:

• The person signing the contract with Adyen.
• Shareholders who have 25% or more of the shares or voting rights.

The proof of identity can be any of the following photo IDs:

• Passport: Make a copy of the data page, with your picture, details, and machine-readable zone clearly visible.
• ID card: Make a copy of both the front and back, and save them to separate files.
• Driving license: Make a copy of both the front and back, and save them to separate files.

Proof of identity requirements

The photo ID must:

• Be non-expired.
• Have the machine-readable zone visible (if available).
• Be a physical photo ID document, not digital.

The uploaded document must:

• Have separate files for front and back of the ID document (only when providing an ID card or driver's license).
• Be a full color, cropped, and straightened image.
• Be a photo or a scan of the physical photo ID document. We do not accept a screenshot of a photo, a photo pasted on another document, a photo of a screen, or a photo of a printout.

We do not accept:

• Screenshots of ID documents. Instead, provide a photo or PDF of the document.

The uploaded document must meet the following file format and size requirements:

• Formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG, or PDF (maximum 1 file)
• Size for PDFs: minimum 1 KB, maximum 4 MB
• Size for other formats: minimum 100 KB, maximum 4 MB

We cannot accept uploaded documents that are:

• Expired.
• Broken or damaged.
• Dirty, illegible, or with a watermark.
• Blurry or overexposed.
• Black and white.
• Multiple sides or documents in the same file.
• Not cropped, or have a white background.
• Angled, rotated, sideways, or upside down.
• Overcropped or cut off.

Proof of residency requirements

The following sources can be used as proof of residence documentation. These documents must not be older than the period specified below.

Cannot be older than...	Type of document
3 months	Bank statement Utility Bill Taxation Document Extract from Municipal Personal Records Database Salary slip (containing the company letterhead) Government-issued correspondence (receipt of benefits such as pension, unemployment benefits, housing benefits, or healthcare)
12 months	Mortgage statement Certificate of voter registration

The proof of residency must:

• Have the name of the individual.
• Have the full residence address, residence country and residence state (when applicable).

The uploaded document must meet the following file format and size requirements:

• Formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG, or PDF (maximum 1 file)
• File size: minimum 1 KB, maximum 4 MB

Website and app requirements

If you want to do online payments, there are strict requirements about content that must be clearly visible on your website or app.

To show that your website or app satisfies the requirements below, you'll need to share URLs to either your live website or a test deployment that we can check.

Terms and conditions

The terms and conditions must include:

• Your company's legal entity name.
• A description of the product or service that you sell.
• An explanation of how payments happen, for example instantly or through a subscription.
• Delivery information.
• The refund and cancellation policy.
• Mention of third parties involved in providing the service or product.
• Mention of relevant governing law.

Subscriptions and free trials

If you are offering subscriptions or free trials, follow these requirements:

• During the order process, make sure that the cardholder gives their consent to enter a subscription service.
• Send an electronic reminder notification, such as an email or SMS, and a link to online cancellation at least 7 days before initiating a recurring transaction if:
  • A trial period, promotional period or introductory offer has expired.
  • The recurring agreement has changed. For example, the price or the billing period.
• Transaction receipts must include:
  • The length of a trial period, introductory offer, or promotional period.
  • The amount and date of the initial transaction even if no amount is due.
  • The amount for subsequent recurring transactions.
  • A way to allow the cardholder to easily cancel any subsequent transactions, for example a link or using an SMS.
• The cancellation of subscription payments must be easily accessible for online shoppers. For example, provide a link to a cancellation page.

Privacy policy

The privacy policy must describe:

• What data you are storing.
• What data you are sharing with third parties.
• Your cookie policy.

Delivery information

The delivery information must include:

• How long it takes for the shopper to receive the product or service.
• Which countries you deliver your product to, if applicable.

Refund policy

The refund policy must explain:

• If the shopper can get their money back for a product or service they bought from you.
• The ways in which the shopper can return the product or cancel the service.
• The process of returning a product or cancelling the service.

Contact information

Shoppers must be able to contact you if they have questions, so the contact information shown on your website or app must include:

• Legal entity name.
• Email address.
• Phone number.

Checkout and payment process information

During the checkout and payment process, your website must clearly show your company's:

• Legal entity name.
• Trading name, if applicable.
• Company registration number.
• Company location.

You must have a checkbox with the statement I agree to the Terms and Conditions and the Refund and Cancellation policy. The statement must have hyperlinks to the documents mentioned. Shoppers must select the checkbox to accept the statement before continuing to making their payment.

Ownership and control document

In some cases, we need to ask you for additional documents to verify the ownership and control structure of your company.

Ownership and control chart

The ownership and control chart is a visual diagram of the ownership and control structure of the entity or entities involved in your company, and states the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs).

The ownership and control chart must include:

• The full ownership and control structure of all entities and UBOs under review, including all intermediate companies.
• Official legal entity name, legal form, and registered country for every entity on the chart.
• Ownership and control relation between the entities, including ownership percentages.
• Indication of how the criteria for identifying UBOs are fulfilled, for example an individual owning 25% of the total shares.
• A signature confirming the organizational chart's content, the name and job title of the signing person, and the date when the signature was given (not older than 6 months).

If the person signing the organizational chart is one of the following, you don't need to send additional documents:

• An internal person who is a qualified professional such as a lawyer, accountant or auditor, and whose qualification can be checked through the official website of the professional body. The professional body must be either in the registered country of your company, or in the same country as another entity in the ownership and control chart.

• An external person or a professional body, certified by a consultancy firm, notary, lawyer, auditor, or other comparable official legal service provider from the registered country of the legal entity or entities under review.

Criteria for identifying UBOs

Who	Criteria	Required number of individuals
UBOs through ownership	Individuals who directly or indirectly own 25% or more of the total shares, voting rights or other equity in the organization.	Between zero to four. Adyen requires information about all individuals that fit the criteria. If no one owns 25% or more of the organization, then information must be provided about UBOs through control.
UBOs through control	Any individuals who exercise ultimate effective control in making decisions for the whole organization. If such an individual cannot be identified, then members of senior management must be identified as UBOs through control.	At least one. Required if no one fits the criteria of UBO through ownership, or if the organization is operating in the United States.
Signatories	Officers or representatives who legally represent the organization towards Adyen and are authorised to enter a binding agreement with Adyen on behalf of their organization.	At least one.
Directors	Only applicable if the legal entity of the organization is located in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, or Singapore. A natural person responsible, individually or collectively as part of a board, for the overall governance and strategic direction of an organization.	Every director of the company.

External official documents

If the internal person signing the ownership and control chart is not a qualified professional as described above, you must send official documents that support the submitted ownership and control information.
Some examples of official documents are: a business registry extract, shareholder register, articles of incorporation including shareholders.

The official document must:

• State the information about the UBOs behind the legal entity under review, including all intermediate entities involved in the ownership structure.
• Not be older than 6 months.
• Be external. If you have an external document that is older than 6 months, you can submit it if an internal person who is a qualified professional (as descried above) has signed it within the last 6 months.